Rhythm on the Runway

by JButler

Summary:

When Kurt Hummel agrees to cover one of the Fashion Designers at Vogue.com for a photoshoot with up and coming pop sensation BEND, he really didn't expect to come fact to face with Blaine Anderson... again.

Notes:

• For Mynonah.

Thanks to Hummelina for the beta read and to Breila Rose, you're both so good at keeping me in check!!!

Happy Holidays, Mynonah, I hope I captured what you wanted!!

Chapter 1

I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date! That was what was playing in his head on repeat so much that Kurt Hummel sang it under his breath as he pushed hurriedly through to the doors to Conference Room 2. About twenty minutes ago, he got word from Isabelle that one of the stylists had phone in with the norovirus and would be unable to help with the interview for the next big boyband taking over the airways. Kurt instantly volunteered and now was rushing in with minutes to spare, minutes he would try to use to gather the information he needed. The little bitsKurt knew about them was their name, BEND, and the fact that whilst three of them had been in high school together, they had only formed the band in recent years as a way to make money in local cafes and bars until they had been headhunted by a local New York music producer who loved their set and wanted to talk contracts. Now, twelve months since their discovery, BEND was the band of the season and, if the awards were anything to go by for their latest single, Stairway, they were here to stay. 

Kurt set the coffee cups and files down carefully on the table and glanced around the room. Not ideal, but it would have to do. He pulled his phone out and opened Google, hoping he would have a moment to research the band, like. their names, where they grew up, what kind of personality they had - normally Kurt would already have an idea on all of this but between working at Vogue and studying for his degree at Parson’s had left him with little time to really involve himself in his love of music. Whilst BEND was on Kurts radar he hadn’t really had time to take them in and absorb the music. 

The intercom buzzed and Kurt glanced at the red flashing light. He hit the green button.

“Yes?”

“Kurt?” 

“Shelly?”

“BEND are ready for you.”

“Already?”

Shelly’s laugh vibrated through the lines. “They have been here for thirty minutes in hair and make up.”

Kurt made a groaning noise as he hung his head.

“Alright, I’ll be in shortly.” Kurt agreed before putting his phone back into his pocket. He’d have to Google them later.

He exited the conference room that would be used for their interview and headed down to the changing rooms where BEND would be waiting for him. Chase had already picked out some outfits for them and, upon reviewing, he knew he would want to make some minor changes to them, but nothing that Isabelle would need to re-approve of. Just some tweaks in the colours of items. 

As he approached the room, he could hear the voices from the otherside of the door. Kurt stopped in the corridor to straighten his outfit and fix his hair. This was it. He wanted nothing more than for this to go well and to maybe prove to Isabelle that he could do this. That once he finished his final assignment, he could actually do this job full time.. After all the hard-work and everything he learned from Vogue and Parson’s… it was time to put it all to the test. 

He knocked once on the door to announce his presence before he pushed through. The words to introduce himself to BEND were there on the tip of his tongue, but then he caught sight of a very, very familiar head of slicked, gelled back hair and a pair of hazel eyes landed on him before they widened in shock. The mouth that Kurt had once dreamed of kissing opened as if to speak and Kurt could not let that happen. 

“Wrong room!” He called as he exited the changing area in a hurry. The door slammed behind him upon his exit and when it did,he took off running, nearly ripping the hinges of the door to Isabelle Wrights office when he arrived. 

“Blaine Anderson!?” he almost shouted as he walked in. “Blaine. Anderson. Lead singer for the Dalton Academy Warblers is here at Vogue.com and you didn’t tell me?!”

Isabella watched him, completely confused as he paced in front of her desk. “Excuse me?” she asked, clearly stunned by his sudden arrival.

“Nope, I can’t do this. Absolutely not, Isabelle. It’s not happening. I can’t just be in the same room as Blaine Anderson! I'll die! Then you’ll have to call my dad and tell him that I’m dead and at the service, there will be flowers and an elegant casket and a wake were people I haven’t seen in years talk about how I was taken too young and I had so much potential and, all the while, Blaine has to walk around with the knowledge that I couldn’t look at him without dying…”

“Kurt!” Isabelle cut him off with a laugh, “I have no idea who you’re talking about!”

“BEND,” Kurt said “Blaine is in BEND”

“Okay, and who’s Blaine?”

“He was….” Kurt paused for a moment. At one point in his life, for several months, Blaine Anderson had been the one person who had understood him better than himself. He was the one person that he had wanted to let in, to take all his firsts and be all his lasts, but he had been young and naive and Blaine clearly hadn’t felt the same way. He’d been in love with some guy he had met in a coffee shop and Kurt, unable to take the rejection, unable to handle another person not finding him attractive, had fled. He transferred back to McKinley after Glee Club regionals and never looked back. He had done what he did best and turned into a ghost.. 

“Kurt…” Isabelle prompted as she watched him.

“He used to be my best friend… and I ruined it because I had the most spectacular crush on him in high school. So big you could probably see it from space and he didn’t like me back so I panicked, transferred back to my own personal hell of a high school and never spoke to him again.”

“You ran?”

“I did.”

“And… what did you do when you walked into that room?”

“I turned and fled.”

There was something endearing and unsettling at the same time in Isabelle’s smile. “Ah, so he brings out the flight in you? That’s adorable.”

Kurt groaned in frustration as he fell into the seat opposite her and buried his face in his hands. “What do I do?”

“Look, Kurt, you have two choices. You can either go back into that room, act all aloof and professional, pretend like you have no idea who he is, get the job done and then forget he exists again or… you can choose to be brave, acknowledge him, and when he asks why you vanished from his life you can be honest. And I’m sure that if he was your best friend once upon a time,he’d understand.”

“And you won’t think any less of me if I take option one?” Kurt asked, looking up from his hands.

Isabelle grinned. “Not my place to judge Kurt. Although, you once told me that no one pushes the Hummels around. And I expect that rule also applies to old high school crushes.”

Kurt laughed as he leaned back in his seat. “You are the worst fairy godmother!” 

Isabelle laughed softly. “You mispronounced fabulous….come on, Kurt, what’s really going on? Because this doesn’t sound like just some crush.”

Kurt sighed. “No one does push the Hummels around, but Blaine Anderson didn’t need to push me around to get under my skin in a way no one has before. I fell in love with him. From the first time I saw him, when he was singing Teenage Dream in a room rammed full of teenage boys and they loved him for it. He was so confident and charismatic and charming . He took me for coffee afterwards, helped me deal with a particularly nasty bully, bought me enough coffees to fuel my addiction for several months, flirted with me… all while being in love with someone else. I couldn’t compete with someone else and even when I told him how I felt he just told me our friendship meant more to him than he knew what to do with.”

“Did he say that specifically or did you just interpret it as that?”

“He said, and I quote, I really, really care about you… I'm not very good at romance and I don’t wanna screw this up. ”  

“And how long after he said that did you cut your losses and run away?”

“Maybe something like four weeks? I’d been entrusted with the care of the canary mascot and he died and I saw it as a sign and bolted as soon as we lost regionals.”

Once again, there was that endearing smirk on Isabelle’s face. “You’re skittish.”

“Around Blaine Anderson? Of course I’m skittish! Have you seen him?”

Isabelle cackled. “I think I am thoroughly going to enjoy watching you squirm your way around this. Go on, they’re waiting for you.”

“But… Isabelle!” Kurt looked scandalised.

“Well, what did you think I was going to do, coddle you?”

“Well, a little sympathy wouldn’t go amiss…”

“Oh Kurt, you poor thing. Having to be in a room with your very attractive, high school crush. Now go and do what I pay you to do.”

“You pay me to bring coffee and doughnuts and answer your emails, not dress celebrities for interviews.”

“Ahh, but you do it well and you never know what could come your way,” She paused for a moment before she smiled genuinely, “Look, when you offered to cover for Chase this morning, I could have said “no ” but Kurt, ever since you started here and chased the dream you didn’t know you wanted, you’ve really come out of your shell. You know fashion in a way that some of my long-time designers don’t. You’ve got a way of being able to match styles to people that most of us higher ups envy, so if I’m being honest, I’ve been looking for a way to test you and this was the perfect opportunity. It doesn’t matter if he’s an old crush or not - what does matter is how you dress him… and you can use the crush to your advantage…” she winked him a small smirk and pointed to the door. 

“You are evil .”

“You’re so sweet. Love you, honey!”

“Yeah, yeah...” Kurt sighed as he left the room and pulled the door shut behind him. Once outside, he took a few deep breaths before heading back to the changing rooms. He rested his hand on the door and, after a silent pep talk, pushed it open to see the band members already getting changed with the help of the other assistants chipping in for today. God help him.

---

Blaine stood dumbfounded as his eyes watched the door where a ghost of his past had both entered and exited within the blink of an eye. He almost didn’t believe it, but the second he saw that chestnut hair and pair of blueish-green eyes, there was no mistaking Kurt Hummel for anyone else. Nick and David were chuckling behind him while Elliott looked perplexed. “What just happened?”

“Yeah, Blaine, what just happened?” Nick teased.

“Was that... Wait…”

David laughed and patted Blaine on the back as he glanced over at Elliott. “Oh you’re in for some tea .”

“Sweet or hot?” Elliott grinned.

“Both…” Nick laughed. “If we’re not mistaken, that was one Kurt Elizabeth Hummel… ex-warbler and crush of one Mr Blaine Anderson.”

“He wasn’t a crush…”

Nick gave Blaine a very disbelieving look as he put his hands on his hips. “Uhuh, you sang him a song about wanting to get into his skin tight jeans tonight within thirty seconds of meeting him.”

“And let him spy on us,” David ragged.

“Wait,” Elliott laughed, “Was this in high school?”

“Yes, Kurt was a show choir spy!” Nick grinned “Albeit a really bad one. You should have seen him, Elliott, all blushing and sad because he was being really, horrendously bullied at his public school and then in swooped Super Blaine . All ready to defend cute, blue-eyed boys from ignorant bullies.”

“Aww, I can just imagine you with your Dalton blazer,” Elliott teased with a laugh as he reached over to give Blaine’s hair a ruffle.

“Nope!” Blaine pulled away, “We’ve talked about this, we don’t touch the hair!”

“I should hope we do ‘touch’ the hair,” a female assistant stood in front of them, a curious smile on her face as she stepped towards Blaine. “If I tap your head it’s probably going to be hollow from all the gel you’ve lacquered on there.” She offered her hand to Blaine with a smirk. “I’m Lizzie… and I believe I heard you talking about the one and only Kurt Hummel.”

“So that was him?” Blaine asked. 

“If it’s the same one?” she smiled. “His name is Kurt. Now, while he seems to be otherwise, indisposed, we can start getting you changed into the outfits for the first shoot and go from there.”

“I thought Kurt said he was in the wrong room,” Elliott said.

“Oh no,” Lizzie offered a smirk. “He most certainly wasn’t. To be honest, I don’t know what came over him.”

“Oh, I think I know,” Nick sang and nodded towards Blaine, “There's a twist you see,” he tilted his head at Elliott, “Kurt had a crush on Blaine too but neither of them would admit it.”

“Oooh, the tea is piping hot,” Elliott grinned. “But I think you bett-” he cut himself off when the door opened and the man in question stepped into the room looking far more composed than he had earlier, apart from a red tinge to his cheeks. 

“Good morning, Blaine, David, Nick and…” he paused as he glanced at Elliott and raised an eyebrow.

“I’m Elliott Gilbert.”

“Oh,” Kurt smiled and then raised a hand to his lips. “I get it now. B.E.N.D… really, guys? Out of all the cool and original boy band names you could have chosen? At least when you retire from the business the headline could read BEND OVER …or something equally terrible.”

Nick grinned and stepped forward, grabbing Kurt in a hug and swinging him around while Elliott, Blaine and David laughed behind him.  “It’s so good to see you have the Hummel snark still intact!”

Kurt yelped as he was sung in a wide circle. “Nicholas Duval, you put me down this instant or so help me, I will dress you up to look like a clown for this shoot.”

Nick quickly dropped Kurt to his feet and stepped back a hand flying to the back of his neck. “Anything but a clown Kurt.”

“I’m watching you, Duval.” Straightening his suit, Kurt turned to David and offered a hand in greeting. “Hello again, it’s good to see you.”

David rolled his eyes, using Kurt’s hand to pull him into a hug. “Dalton Days are over, Kurt, I can do more than shake your hand now!” and he squeezed him tight. “It’s good to see you!”

“You too!” He pulled back from the hug and shook Elliotts hand before turning to Blaine and raising an eyebrow at the man before him. “We’re definitely touching the hair!”

“No, Kurt, you can’t…”

But Kurt ignored him and turned to Lizzie with a smile. “You know what to do.”

“Kurt, you can’t just..”

Kurt eyes the gel helmet on Blaine’s head. “Your hair hasn’t changed since we met on that staircase in Dalton. In fact, it’s gotten flatter. It couldn’t be anymore welded down unless it was actually being held down by cement. Now, your stylist says that you won’t let her touch your hair but Blaine, there’s one thing you should know about me - I take my job very seriously and if you want me to let you on the front page of Vogue.com’s website, the hair is being touched.”

Blaine’s eyes widened and he nodded once “Of course, Kurt… anything for you.”

“That’s better,” he offered a smile and nodded at Lizzie.“I’m thinking… Timothy Chalamet, but with longer hair.”

Lizzie grinned and pulled Blaine away towards the washroom at the back.

“Now,” Kurt smiled, turning to the others “As for the rest of you, I’m thinking… good boys gone bad. Beth!” Kurt called into the back as he turned and picked up a couple of shirts.

“Yes?” another woman peered around the corner of the door, this one holding a foundation brush. 

“Do you think they can pull off eyeliner?”

David and Nick shared a look and Elliott grinned widely. “Oh, I know I can!”

---

‘Anything for you… Anything for you. What was he meant to do with that? Anything for you. Fucking Blaine Anderson and his charm, wit and eyes. God those eyes had not changed at all…’ Kurt could not focus as he stared between two shirts, trying to pull something together for Elliott. He figured he’d start with the hardest one first - the one he knew less about. In theory, the challenge would be enough to distract him, but as he stared at the shirts, he couldn’t help but think about the man who was haunting him. Kurt hadn’t put much thought into Blaine over the past few years. Yes, there were days he thought back to him and wondered how things could have been different. How he could have taken Blaine’s word of encouragement to heart and had the courage to tell Blaine how he felt, but they were always fleeting. Now, he was quite literally faced with the man. If he believed in fate, perhaps he would think this was some twisted, sick game by them to put them back together or maybe offer him a second chance, but it had been years. There was no telling if Blaine even felt anything for him after all this time or if was even interested. All you have to do is get through this shoot and then you never have to see or think about Blaine Anderson ever again , he kept reminding himself. 

Eventually he settled on the look for Elliott, with Nick and David’s falling in line now that he had a theme. Now all that was left was Blaine. He could do this. He could do this.

“Kurt, they’re ready for you.”

Kurt turned and when he saw Blaine now with his hair done the way he imagined, his mouth went dry.

He couldn’t do this. Absolutely not, there was no way he could… he’d have to go to Isabelle and…

“Oooh looking good Anderson,” Nick grinned as he peered around the corner of the changing screens. “Those curls really make your eyes pop .”

“Yeah, they do,” David grinned, spotting Kurt’s face. “What do you think?”

Kurt stuttered. “Very kinky….your hair! Your hair looks kinky ... .like, curly, not the other kinky ....”

Blaine quirked an eyebrow. “I’m not sure kinky was what Lizzie was going for, Kurt.”

Kurt’s face turned beet red and he ducked his head before reaching for an outfit and shoving it into Blaine’s hands. 

David and Nick laughed as Elliott shook his head. Elliott couldn’t help but watch - it was an unusual experience, almost being on the outside looking in and observing these two very large crushes that these boys had on each other and yet somehow had never been on the same page at the same time. Well, if he had anything to say about it, by the end of the shoot, they’d at least have a date lined up. And after looking at David and Nick, he was sure he couldn’t be the only one.

Chapter 2

Notes:

Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter out. Everything was a bit slower with the holidays, return to work and the start of panto season at the Drama group I help at! Hope you enjoy the final part.

Special thank you to Hummelina for the workshopping, persistant reminders to stop getting distracted, being the listening ear we all need when writing and the beta read!

Elliott Gilbert had a plan. Or, at least, he had part of a plan. Knowing what he now knew about Blaine’s history with one certain stylist, Kurt Hummel, and how Nick and David had tried when they were in high school to get Blaine to ask Kurt out - although Dalton's strict “no bullying policy” had probably affected how they went about their meddling - he had come up with the beginnings of a very solid plan.  Blaine would probably be rather irritated that they were meddling in his love life, but to be fair, it wasn’t really meddling - it was just creating an opportunity . Nick and David were very clearly on board the moment he told them his idea so all they needed now was to put the plan into motion. So, as the photoshoot came to a close, Elliott waited for Nick and David to run interference with Blaine while Elliott approached Kurt. “Hey, can I bother you for a second?”

Kurt looked up from his phone. Elliott was pretty sure Kurt was relieved that it was Elliot approaching and not one of the other guys, judging by how Kurt’s posture seemed to shift when he looked up at him. “Of course. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, no, everything is fine. It’s just…we’re having a party later to celebrate our new album launch and I wanted to see if you were free to join us.”

“Oh,” Kurt looked shocked as he glanced over at the others. Everyone seemed busy either packing up or changing out of the shoot outfits that had been picked and back into their regular clothes. “Erm… are you asking me out on a date?” He felt uncomfortable as he watched Elliott.

Eliott erupted into laughter and grinned. “What, and risk the teasing of my bandmates? No, I just thought that since you knew those jokers from high school that you might like to come celebrate with them.”

Kurt seemed relieved that the invitation was nothing more than just that as his smile pulled across his face.“Yeah, I would like that. Thank you.”

Elliott beamed. “Excellent! I’ll make sure you’re added to the guest list.” 

He paused for a moment and then winked at Kurt. “And just so you know… if it wasn’t for how hung up on Blaine you were, which lets be honest can be seen from space,  by everyone except him, this would be a date.”

“I haven’t seen him in years,” Kurt denied with a shake of his head,  “I don’t know what you’re on about.” 

Elliott raised his eyebrows at Kurt and smirked. “Uhuh, yeah, that was believable. And here I thought denial was just a river in Egypt…”

With his cheeks burning bright red, Kurt turned to scan the room quickly before rolling his eyes in Elliott’s direction. “And if I wasn’t so hung up on him and all our what if’s, I would have accepted,” he conceded, his voice much lower so that only Elliott could hear him, “Besides, I doubt he even likes me back.”

Elliott snorted and gave Kurt a look again. “Shall I get you an oar or can you power this boat on pure obliviousness?”

Kurt shrugged and turned to watch Blaine as he chatted with Nick and David casually. His eyes occasionally drifted to where Elliott and Kurt stood.

“So you admit you still like him?” Elliott finally asked, giving Kurt an out.

“From a purely aesthetic viewpoint, he’s nice to look at,” Kurt smirked. “But fame could have turned him into an arsehole, and I don’t like arseholes.”

Eliott raised his eyebrows. “Doesn’t make you a very good gay…” 

Kurt blushed again and turned away from Elliott to watch Blaine. “Maybe I want someone to like me, for once.” 

Kurt shrugged before he walked away to collect the outfits from one of the assistants. “8pm!” he heard Elliott call after him, “I’ll send a car!”

“You don’t know where I live!”

Elliott smirked. “No, but I’m sure one of these lovely ladies would be able to tell me!”

“Bushwick!” Shelly immediately announced with a smirk, “In a loft at the top of a very old building near a subway!”

Elliott beamed as he headed over to her. Kurt just rolled his eyes as he went back about his work.

Neither of them noticed the confused looks that Blaine sent Nick and David as they watched the exchange. 

---

Kurt groaned outwardly as he went through the different shirts he had hanging up in his closet. “I don’t know, Rachel, maybe I just shouldn’t go. I mean, why am I even going?”

“Because you were invited!” Rachel said quite enthusiastically on the other end, “ and it’s a great experience and you can network. Plus, this is a great chance for you to catch up with your old friends!. I know you came back to McKinley pretty fast after everything with Blaine, but this is your chance to finally figure out if Blaine’s interested in you or not .”

“I dunno, Rach, I mean…” Kurt paused as he pulled out one of his blue shirts, “he’s super famous now. He could have anyone. I seriously doubt he’s remotely interested in me.”

“ Erm, Earth too, Kurt Hummel! Have you ever listened to any of their music? ”

“Only the big one that’s on the radio all the time. I can’t remember the name of it… Spirals?”

“ The song you’re referring to is “What If.”It has very specific lyrics like “ What if I'd told you, what if I'd tried? Would my life be different, with you by my side? I’m haunted now by the things I didn't say” and “What if’s keep me awake, they spiral and swirl, like my feelings for you that I can’t ever declare.””

“‘What if’ is such an unoriginal title. Spirals would have been much better.”

“ Kurt Hummel, you are missing the point! That song is obviously about you. He wrote you a love song! ”

“Oh c’mon. That could be about anyone.”

“I bet you the location of my teddy bear sweater, that this song is about you.”

“Rachel, you are never getting that sweater back. I made it smaller and donated it to a children’s shelter - not that it needed much altering.”

“Kurt! That was my favourite sweater!”

“I should have put it in the waste-to-energy disposal at work. It might have been better as electricity for children’s homes.”

“You’re so mean!” 

“No, I’m being honest.” Kurt sighed as he dropped onto the bed, the phone pressed to his ear. “But if it makes you feel better, I will take you shopping for an appropriate replacement if that song turns out to be about me - which I highly doubt.”

“ Well, even if it’s not, it sounds like Elliott might be the one to finally crack open that chastity lock you’ve buckled to your very soul. ”

“Rachel!” Kurt groaned. “It’s not my fault that the general gay population of New York have found me unappealing.”

“ That's probably because you walk around in about seven layers and whenever someone gets close enough to you, the cat claws come out and you use their outfit to sharpen them. ”

“That’s if there is even an outfit to shred.”

Rachel laughed. “ Oh Kurt honey, that’s the whole point. How do you expect to have sex if you keep your clothes on? ”

Kurt made an audible disapproving noise as he held up two shirts in front of the mirror, his black pants, already on. “Yeah, okay, sure. Burgundy with diamante shoulders or white shirt with a burgundy tie?”

“ This is Blaine Anderson. Burgundy with the sparkly shoulders. It makes your arms look amazing. ”

“Hmmm,” Kurt sighed as he pulled the shirt on.

“ No jacket either. Keep those biceps on display. There is absolutely no harm in some extra bribery should Blaine try to play hard to get. ”

“I’m not going to chase him, Rachel. I already did enough of that in high school. No, if he wants me, he can make the first move.”

“ Yeah yeah ,” she laughed, “ Brunch tomorrow so you can tell me all about it ?”

“Sure. Midday at Sardies?” 

“ Ohh you spoil me! I’ll book us a table and maybe invite Santana! I know she’ll make sure you spill the tea. ”

“Bye Rachel!”

Kurt hung up and eyed the black jacket hanging on the front of his wardrobe. He pondered it for a moment before he focused on his arms in the mirror. “I guess one less layer for tonight won’t hurt…” he muttered to himself before his phone buzzed with a text from Elliott telling him his driver was 2 mins away.

Showtime.

---

The Ritz was packed. Journalists and other celebrities were walking down the red carpet rolled out on the ground and into the party. Now, Kurt knew BEND was popular, but he hadn’t quite realised they were “A-list celebrity” popular. If he had known that the likes of Jonathan Bailey and Oscar Isaac would be here, he would have dressed up a bit more. Kurt quite literally felt like he was out of place.

“Hi,” he greeted the bouncer at the start of the red carpet entry with an awkward wave. “My name is Kurt…”

“Kurt!” 

He glanced down the carpet and saw Elliott jogging up to him. Now Elliott looked like he belonged, dressed in black leather pants, a floor length sparkly jacket, black shirt and sparkly top hat, perched atop his head. “Oh my god, what are you wearing?” he laughed as Elliott reached him and signed him in with the bouncer 

“Clothes,” Elliotte teased before taking his arm and leading him down the red carpet into the lobby. They passed celebrity after celebrity, Elliott greeting them each as if they were old college buddies as he led him down to the ballroom where he could hear, what he assumed, was BEND’s music blasting out of the speakers. “You’re far more famous than I realised,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Elliott laughed as he pulled Kurt through the large room where people talked and laughed together. "I don’t know if I should be flattered or insulted…Ah!" Elliott beamed as he came up behind Blaine and clapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Blainey-bee I have a surprise for you." 

Blaine nearly fell over from the force of Elliott. "Oh God, what did you do?”

"Well, you see... I just couldn't get your friend from school that we met today out of my head... Sooo.." 

Elliott stepped aside to reveal Kurt stood behind looking even more awkward than he already felt. "Hello Blaine Warbler.”

Blaine wasn't quite sure what he was expecting but when he saw Kurt, his jaw dropped. That outfit was downright sinful. "K-Kurt," he stammered, feeling his cheeks radiating red. He was going to kill Elliott. "Wow... You look.....”

Kurt smiled at Blaine, blushing a little at the obvious positive reaction. "You too... Sorry, if this is too awkward.. Me being here, I mean…  I can go...”

"No, no," he stammered, trying to stop staring at his arms, "I'm glad to see you. I'm just surprised, is all. Good surprised. I'm glad Elliott invited you." 

That time he glared at Elliott. A head's up would have been nice. "I can show you around, introduce you to some people, if you want.”

Kurt offered a smile, trying to hide his blush and insecurity. "Shouldn't you be mingling with the rich and glamorous that are here? You don't need your estranged high school friend hanging around.”

"Normally it's the other way around," Elliott explained, not being dissuaded by Blaine's glare. "The party is about us so everyone wants to hang out with us. You two should go have fun. I need to go talk to David and Nick about something."

Before Blaine could ask about what, Elliott was gone. Blaine had a sinking suspicion they would find out later. "So....uh....care for a drink?”

Kurt nodded as Blaine turned his back to lead him through the crowd towards the bar. He glanced around and noticed Elliott, David and Nick chatting near the stage, all of them muttering and glancing around occasionally. Nick saw him and gave him a wave with a cheeky grin that caused Kurts insides to turn.

“I feel so out of place.” he laughed as they reached the bar and Blaine held out a glass of champagne to him which he accepted with a smile.

“You work at Vogue, Hummel, don’t play coy with me. You see celebrities every day.”

“Vogue.com,” Kurt corrected and glanced down, “And today was a kind of trial by fire… I’m normally a PA to the editor, Isabelle Wright, but your scheduled stylist called in sick and Isabelle stuck her neck out for me to try and prove I could do the stylist job.”

“Well, I think you did amazing.”

“Of course I did. You looked incredible,” Kurt blushed and took a sip to hide the little smile that was forming. “Besides, I won’t know if Vogue.com liked it until the photos are reviewed.”

“Trust me, they’ll love it. I know we did. We might even have to take you on as our permanent stylist if you can make us look that good and still feel like ourselves.”

Blaine clapped a hand to Kurt’s shoulder. “Seriously Kurt, I felt more like myself in that room than I have since the band took off. I feel like an imposter half the time.”

“You were destined to become a star, Blaine.” Kurt reached out and touched his shoulder tentatively, an action that in high school he wouldn’t have given second thought to. “Just enjoy it.”

“It’d be easi-” Blaine was cut off when Nick and David bounded over as the sound system crackled to life.

“Welcome everyone, to the album launch party for Echoes! Please welcome to the stage, your band of the hour, BEND!”

Everyone in the room hollered and applauded. Blaine gave Kurt a sheepish grin before whispering in his ear, “I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” before following his band mates up to the stage.

Kurt stood still, his hands clasped firmly around the champagne glass as he watched the four men huddle for a moment before seemingly nodding in unison. It was Blaine who took the microphone center stage. “Hi everyone! Thank you all for coming out tonight to help us celebrate Echoes!   This has been a crazy few months since we released the album. I started writing some of these songs in my senior year of High School and I never thought I would see the day that I would be performing them for thousands of people each and every night. It’s been absolutely crazy, but we have loved every minute of it! Thanks to our team, we’re finally here! Before we get going, we have some people we wanted to recognize. We want to say thanks to everyone at Sony Music for supporting us. To our families and friends for being our biggest cheerleaders! To Vogue.com for helping to promote us and pushing us out there when they didn’t know much about us.” 

Blaine paused for a moment before smiling and finding Kurt in the crowd. “And with that thank you to Vogue.com, there is one more thank you I need to make…a big thank you to Kurt Hummel, who, when I was sixteen years old, walked into my life and changed me forever… some would say for the better. The guy who took my hand and trusted me, even though he had never met me, who vanished from my life as quickly as he appeared, only to come crashing back into only today, looking absolutely fabulous as he walked through the door to our changing room.” 

Blaine paused to take a breath and to look around the room before  Kurt’s gaze. “Kurt…thank you… I never told you, when we were teenagers, but I needed you as much as you needed me. You supported me without question, condition or judgement and running into you today, it just felt like fate. Seriously, everyone just wait until you see the pictures he arranged and styled for us at Vogue.com today. He's going to be the next big thing coming out of there…. So a big round of applause to Kurt Hummel, everyone.”

Kurt felt like he wanted to disappear into a hole as soon as Nick pointed him out and the spotlight fell on him. Oh, he was so going to kill Rachel for talking him into going to this. His face felt like it was on fire as he sheepishly waved at those that had turned to applaud him. “Alright, let’s get this party started!” 

The music kicked up, opening with one of their more rock-based songs. If Kurt was honest with himself he didn’t have a clue what the song was called or if he had heard it before, but he allowed himself to be swept up by a woman, wearing a dress he recognised from the Marc Jacobs line that had dropped out of nowhere three weeks ago. 

“Are you dancing with me for Vogue.com connections?” he teased as she twirled herself under his arms.

“Nah,” she grinned, “I’m dancing with you because of those arms! ”

Kurt shook his head and laughed as he continued to move with her, thanking god for the dance classes he and Rachel had taken at night school just for fun. 

“You're Kurt right?”

“Yes, and you?”

“My name is Kitty Wilde, I’m the band's PR assistant. I knew Blaine in school.”

“Funny, so did I,” Kurt laughed.

“Yeah, I know. He just told the whole room about you, Kurt… so… tell me… are you the inspiration behind “What If”?”

Kurt groaned. “That’s such a stupid name for a song.”

Kitty erupted into laughter. “I think I’m going to like you, Hummel. Want a job?”

Kurt blinked at her, unable to decide if she was serious or not. “What, and leave Vogue.com?”

“Well that depends… Do you want to be a stylist or a fashion designer?”

Before Kurt could answer, a male voice spoke up over the music. “May I cut in?”

Kurt turned and found himself face to face with Sebastian Smythe. Now this person, he did know. 

“Hello Sebastian,” he offered and took Sebastian’s offered hand.

Sebastian grinned. “Kurt Hummel. Who would have thought I would run into you here, of all places. Please, tell me all the high school stories about Blaine. I need the leverage.”

Kurt laughed as he started to move with the familiarity that his ex-boyfriend could bring him. Sebastian was Kurt’s longest relationship, standing at seven months and only splitting when Sebastian was offered a job in LA that was too good to turn down. “What high school stories do you want, Bas?”

“The dirty ones. I need to know if there’s any dirty little secrets I should know about.”

Kurt took a moment to think back to any of the stories he knew about Blaine. There weren’t any real dirty ones, but one did stick out that he still found amusing to this day. “Do you know about The Gap Attack? He serenaded the Store Assistant Manager at The Gap with the song, When I Get You Alone and got him fired. Not only that but it turns out that the guy was in college.”

Sebastian paused, his hand on Kurt’s waist pressing a bit more firmly as he groaned. “Oh my god… did that end up online?!”

“No, I was part of said GAP Attack.”

Kitty laughed behind them and held up her phone. “I found and dealt with it months ago! Don’t worry.”

Sebastian sighed with relief. “Okay, good. How about the stories that won’t give me heart failure?”

Kurt chuckled and shrugged. “You already know about everything he supported me with, all the bullying and the assault. There’s just nothing juicy to tell.”

“Oh, come on, Kurtie Pie, there has to be something .”

Kurt rolled his eyes at the obnoxious nickname he hated, even when they were dating. “Nothing he did whilst I knew him, which I think was a grand total of eight months. Then I went back to McKinnley and we lost touch.”

Sebastian glanced over at the band now performing another one of their songs, Stairway . “I suppose, from a PR perspective, that’s good. But from a gossip perspective, that’s boring.”

Kurt shrugged. “Sorry to disappoint. I only saw him through a pair of rose tinted glasses for the entire time I knew him.”

Kitty pressed her back to Kurt’s as she moved against him, making him the meat in a Kitty-Sebastian sandwich. He was unsure how he felt about it. Kurt glanced over at the stage and found Blaine watching him, confusion evident on his face and, if Kurt was correct, a hint of jealousy. But that couldn’t be possible. Blaine didn’t like him like that. 

“So,” Sebastian leaned in and whispered in Kurt’s ear. “Fancy sneaking off for old time sake?”

Kurt rolled his head back and grinned at Sebastian. “How did I know you wouldn’t just come over to say hello.”

“Well, I could come over something else.” 

Kurt erupted into laughter that was loud enough that people nearby turned to glance at him. He shook his head to contain his amusement and nodded his head towards the band. “Sorry, dear. I feel bad enough that I only know one song of theirs, I can’t miss the concert."

“I’ll get you an advance copy of their CD,” Sebastian smirked before leaning in and whispering in his ear with hot breath, “the only music I want to hear right now is the sweet songs I know I can get you to sing.”

Kurt cringed internally. “Cheeseball.”

“Well...” Sebastian went to speak, but Kurt’s head quickly turned towards the stage when Nick started speaking into the microphone. “Thank you for partying with us tonight. We want to change it up a little bit, so here’s something a little extra special for you all before we move onto our final song.”

Kurt watched as Blaine turned, clearly confused as they struck up an all too familiar beat. Blane’s jaw slightly opened in shock that Nick hurried to pick up the opening line before they missed their cue. “ You think I’m pretty, without any makeup on, you think I’m funny, when I tell the punchline wrong, I know you get me, so I let my walls come down… down…”

Kurt laughed as the song kicked off and paid close attention to Blaine who looked absolutely shell-shocked before throwing on his performance face and turning to face the crowd. He joined in, harmonizing instantly before picking up the lead and catching Kurt’s eyes. 

Kurt was transported back to all those years ago, watching Blaine perform the same song with the same feelings rushing through him as he held Blaine’s gaze. He stepped back from Sebastian, unable to look his way. He felt Sebastian squeeze his waist as he pulled away but missing the smug grin he shared with Kitty when they watched Blaine and Kurt reconnect in a room of hundreds without words. 

No one seemed to notice the magical moment that this song had created. To them, it was just another fun cover of a song that they could all dance to. They failed to notice how Blaine couldn’t take his eyes off of Kurt or how Kurt was frozen stock still on the edge of the dance floor, unable to pry his eyes away. Memories and wishful thoughts were brought back with the lyrics of the song. How much more poignant were these lyrics now?

 “My heart stops when you look at me. Just one touch, now maybe I believe this is real, let’s take a chance and don’t ever look back… “

The song came to an end, finally freeing Kurt from the invisible vines rooting him to the ground. He needed a minute to clear his head so he sought out a quiet space to psych himself up. Needing a quick getaway from the crowd, he headed out of a side door into a small walled garden area. How this existed in Manhattan, he had no idea, but it would provide a moment of peace that he needed.  He could do this. He could face Blaine and at least admit that he had feelings for him. Admit that he wanted to be loved .

After several minutes of enjoying the slightly cooler air, he felt a little bit more ready. He turned to join the party when he stopped abruptly before colliding with Blaine Anderson.

Well, shit, he had hoped he’d have at least one more minute.

“Everything okay?” Blaine asked as he looked at Kurt. His pale skin looked slightly flushed and he hadn’t been able to get Kurt’s retreating form out of his head. Had Nick pushed too far?

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a little too warm in there.”

Blaine watched him for a moment. “Can I ask you a question?”

Kurt nodded as Blaine reached out and tentatively took his hand, almost as if he was waiting for Kurt to snatch it back. He let Blaine hold his hand and play with his fingers as he waited - he couldn’t help but notice Blaine seemed incredibly nervous. “When we were at Vogue… you seemed genuinely surprised to see me. Like you didn’t know I was in the band.”

“I didn’t,” Kurt offered with a small smile. “To be honest, I haven’t really been following the charts lately. Vogue takes up so much of my time that I don’t really get time to think or breathe. I knew of BEND, but I hadn’t paid enough attention to pictures or anything.”

That made Blaine chuckle a little bit. “Do you know any of our music?”

“Urgh,” Kurt laughed. “Only that one that’s played in every shop I go into. What If ?”

Blaine nodded and bit his lip nervously as he took a step closer. “So, how do you know Sebastian?”

Kurt felt like he had whiplash. “Smythe?”

Blaine nodded. “We dated for a few months before he moved to LA. He was really sweet and a good first boyfriend.”

“Huh…I can’t imagine that after seeing his playboy ways in LA.”

Kurt chuckled. “He’s definitely an enigma.”

Kurt was almost sure he saw a hint of nervousness in Blaine’s face. “So….are you two….?”

The question hung in the air for a minute until Kurt finally figured out what Blaine was asking? “What? No! Oh God, no….no, he’s great, but we’re just friends.”

Blaine nodded for a moment before he used the hand he was holding to pull Kurt forward. A barely there “good” was breathed from Blaine’s lips before they met Kurt’s.

Kurt froze. He’d been building himself up for confessing his feelings and yet, here was Blaine, kissing him. 

Kurt pulled back, very startled as he stared into Blaine eyes wide. “What?”

“Kurt…” Blaine breathed as he watched him carefully. 

“Is this real?”

Blaine smiled and leaned in, kissing him again. This time he pulled him in closer by his waist and guided Kurt’s hands to wrap around his shoulders. With the shock having worn off, Kurt kissed Blaine back, his hands moving as he let Blaine pull him in tight. Time seemed to have stilled for a moment as the realization of what they were doing settled in. When they pulled apart, Kurt was the first to notice Nick, David and Elliott standing off to one side watching them. Nick was clapping his hands giddily.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then” Kurt said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“You said you’d heard the song “ What If ” right?” Blaine asked quietly.

“Yeah…?” Kurt looked confused.

“In the rough drafts note when I was writing it… it was called “Kurt’s Song”

Kurt blushed and ducked his head. “Noo…”

Blaine smiled and raised his hand to cup Kurt's cheek, his thumb, tenderly running over his cheek. “I have loved you for a very long time, and I swore to myself that I would tell you if I ever saw you again. So  in the meantime, I poured my feelings out into songs, but seeing you walk into that dressing room today, Kurt… oh my god, I just knew that I needed to talk to you. Take this chance… because it was like fate.  But then Elliott stole you at Vogue and then I had to perform here, and I just… I can't let any more time go without you knowing how I feel about you.”

Kurt could feel the tears in his eyes at Blaine's speech. “This whole time,” he muttered as he wiped his eyes, "you know, the only reason I left Dalton was because I didn't think you could return my feelings.”

Blaine's eyes bulged. “What?”

Kurt laughed wetly as he leaned his forehead against Blaine's. “I Iove you too. I've loved you since the moment I met you, Blaine and that's never changed.”

Blaine's eyes closed and he swept Kurt into another kiss. Now that everything was out in the world, he was not about to waste another minute.

---

The next morning, Rachel Berry woke up to two text messages on her phone. 

From Kurt: can we make brunch into lunch? 2PM

From Kurt: your teddy bear sweater is located under my bed in Lima, Ohio. 

Her laughter was loud and joyful. Finally.